ATLANTIC CITY – Jesse Hart has expressed concern that he’ll fight with too much emotion when he faces Joe Smith Jr. on Saturday night.

Hart wants revenge because Smith emphatically ended the career of the legendary fighter Hart idolized, Bernard Hopkins. Hart hasn’t forgotten how hurt he was when Smith knocked Hopkins out of the ring in what turned out to be Hopkins’ final fight three years ago in Inglewood, California.

If their weigh-in Friday afternoon was an accurate indication of how Hart will handle his emotions Saturday night, the Philadelphia native should be just fine. Hart stood stone-faced as he and Smith stared at each other after making weight at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

Hart, 30, officially weighed in exactly at the light heavyweight limit of 175 pounds. Smith, also 30, stepped on the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board’s scale at 174½ pounds.

Philadelphia’s Hart (26-2, 21 KOs) will fight within the light heavyweight division for the second time. He knocked down Sullivan Barrera in his 175-pound debut and won that 10-round fight by unanimous decision June 15 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Cuba’s Barrera beat Smith by unanimous decision in their 10-rounder, but Smith suffered a broken jaw very early in that July 2017 bout at The Forum in Inglewood, California.

Smith (24-3, 20 KOs), of Mastic, New York, hasn’t fought in 10 months. In his last bout, WBA light heavyweight champ Dmitry Bivol (17-0, 11 KOs) easily out-boxed Smith and convincingly won a 12-round unanimous decision March 9 at Turning Stone Resort in Verona, New York.

Sports books in Atlantic City have listed Hart as more than a 4-1 favorite to beat Smith in a main event ESPN will televise from Hard Rock’s Etess Arena.

Earlier Friday, Steven Nelson and Cem Kilic made weight for the 10-round, 168-pound encounter ESPN will air before Smith-Hart.

Nelson (15-0, 12 KOs), of Omaha, Nebraska, got on the scale at 167½ pounds. The German-born Kilic (14-0, 9 KOs), of Thousand Oaks, California, also came in at 167½ pounds.

ESPN’s broadcast is set to start at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. 

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.